The Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, will start a five-day official visit to Nigeria on Monday to improve existing cooperation between the country and the organization.
The visit will provide a unique opportunity for him to discuss with government officials the development priorities of the country and how ACBF can help address them. He is also expected to pay courtesy calls on top government officials including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, and Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun.
The Harare-based pan-African Foundation was set up in 1991 to help develop necessary local capacities of African countries in a bid to reduce poverty on the continent. It has supported and continues to support a number of critical capacity building initiatives in Nigeria with a total investment to date of $26.7 million. The most recent of these initiatives is the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS) which ACBF established and continues to fund. NILS has become an indispensable tool for the National Assembly in discharging its mandates.
Nigeria is a founding member of the Foundation established as a partnership between African countries and their multilateral and bilateral development partners. Its membership has grown from 12 countries at its creation to 39 countries today. The Foundation has supported 45 African countries to date and invested more than $750 million in capacity building programs and projects across Africa.
Prof. Nnadozie says: “ACBF is most grateful to Nigeria for being its most important African contributor to date with a cumulative contribution of $6.7 million since 1991. Out of that amount, the country contributed $5 million to the current Strategic Plan spanning 2012 to 2016. ACBF is currently developing its next Strategic Plan covering 2017 to 2021. Contributions from African countries are leveraged by ACBF to attract support from the rest of the world. “
The mission will be rounded up on Feb. 12.
